No Company Info? Write a Great Cover Letter Anyway

I get notes in my inbox every day, but this one stood out — so I decided to give it a little extra attention!

If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask me, feel free to send it to info@adminsecret.com. Due to volume I can’t always get to every question, but I’ll do my best to send you a quick response.

Hi Kayla,

I have a question. When responding to job postings on Craigslist, you will not know the company, address or person to address etc. How does one format a CV for such an instance? Besides the typical Dear Sir or Madam, there is no other formatting/information that one could include for a professional cover letter other than personal contact info and the body of the letter and of course date. I am confused on how to write a cover letter for a response like this.

Thank you,
Robin

Hi Robin, thanks for emailing!

This is an excellent question. Craigslist postings are tough because you can’t just Google the email that’s listed, and sometimes the poster won’t even put in the name of the company. If that’s the case, customize your cover letter to the industry and not that particular company — this can also save you some time if you’re applying to multiple Craigslist postings that all have zero direct contact information.

The administrative field is great for customizing because you can be an admin in a number of different industries, but your job essentially will be the same: you’re the rock that holds everyone together.

Here’s what to emphasize:

• How much money you saved your previous employer. Give specific amounts if you can, otherwise an educated guess is fine- just don’t exaggerate!

• Customer service experience. This is a great one, because every company wants a shining star in their customer service department.

• Your ability to learn quickly and adapt — an essential job function of any admin. A more professional way to put this would be, “Driven, adaptable and graceful under pressure.”

• Your industry experience. If you’re not sure which industry you’re applying for, list all the industries you’ve worked in.

If the Craigslist post actually does have a little bit of information about the company, try the tips in our article Stalk Your Way to a New Job. There are plenty of tips on how to sneakily get lots of information about a company even with the tiniest lead, so you can more easily customize your cover letter.